Slippery Rock, a District 10, Class AAA school, rallied from an 11-point third-quarter deficit and held off the Wolverines in nonsection action. Ellwood City (11-10) trailed by four in the waning moments and a field goal made the final a two-point differential.

The Wolverines had won four of their last five games.

“This was a game where we need to work on our composure,” Ellwood City coach Al Campman said. “That’s where we’re at right now, taking care of our composure.”

Ryan Horgan and Gino Ceriani netted 14 points each to lead the Wolverines.

“It’s important to have balance like that and I liked seeing that,” Campman said. “We’ll need that type of balance in the playoffs.

“We stayed healthy, too, and that’s really important.”

Alec McDeavitt tossed in a game-high 24 points for the Rockets (10-10).